In Aries the Sun gives much mental energy and quick wit. Natives of this sign are natural leaders, more or less headstrong or impulsive, ambitious, full of enterprise and new ideas. They do not like to be under the direction of a master and are inclined to be fiery and quick-tempered, quick to resent abuse or imposition but forgiving and do not hold a grudge long. Their great love of freedom and justice, coupled with their enthusiasm and self-will makes them liable to go to extreme through indignation, hasty speech or lack of discretion. They possess penetrating will-power, are persistent, determined and not easily discouraged. They are phisophical by nature, admire scientifc thought, and are at their best when at the head of things, such as director, instructor, superintendent or manger.
Likewise, those who are born with Aries rising are at their best when they can guide, control and govern themselves or others, as they have the ability to plan and map out their future. They are lovers of independence, fond of their own way and happy only in activity and command. The desire is to be at the head of things and leaders in thought and action. They are enterprising and ambitious, quite versatile and usually rather headstrong and impulsive; forceful and determined in effort and expressive in speech; intense when interested, vehement when excited. Somewhat inclinced to be fiery or quick-tempered and ready to resent abuse or imposition and although liable to go to extremes through indignation, they do not hold a grudge for any great length of time. They admire scientificd thought and are quite philosophical; do not become discouraged easily as they possess a sharp, penetrating will power. They do best in vocations requiring quick action, decision, executive or mechanical aility and responsibility. Motive temperament.
Of all the signs of the zodiac, Aries seems to be the most desirous of speed. Fire and air signs appreciate quick responses in life, but being cardinal and fire, Aries demands the fastest results and can be quite impatient when time seems to drag. Aries has a very short attention span, but that's okay, since it doesn't need a lot of time to react. Nothing is mulled over in Aries' world - either it likes something or it doesn't, either it will do something or it won't! There's no weighing of all sides with Aries, and thus snap decisions are followed by forthright action. Aries knows it's here to get something in mortion, now, at this moment! All personal interests are activated by a single-minded drive to satisfy self-will. Like a bullet, Aries ejects itself into its immediate world to give whaever it targets its best shot - an sometimes it's only shot - of adrenaline and self-starting power.
To see Aries taking risky chances here and there is to wonder if this sign has a secret death wish. It doesn't. It's just that Aries is sometimes like a toddler who thinks nothing of running into noon-day traffic, oblivious to its dangers. The child is simply energetically rushing ahead and is really paying attention to little else. Aries also has a similar ability to block things out when focused on an immediate objective. It's very single-minded and determined when it wants to do something. Let's not forget that Aries is a very phsycially assertive sign, but one that is not very protective of its body (unlike Taurus). It is more driven by its fiery will to battle its fears and to prove itself to be ever-courageous in action.
Aries' energy is like the Sun's rays - clear or conscious, frank, direct, obvious, full of light and heat and visible to all. Though all three Fire signs are solar in nature, Aries is the most exuberant, just as spring is the most exuberant season. The Sun is the only I AM planet; Aries is the only I AM sign. The archetypal Aries takes pride at being on Earth in that physical form or body, pride in him/herself and his/her creative capacity, his/her drive to fulfill his desires in the outside world. Observe a very small Aries child, one too young for society to have curbed his/her enthusiasm, and you may see the Aries archetype manifest - excitement, pride, drive, sumpreme self-confidence, a strong sense of discovery and impatience to experience the world around him.
Aries, then, likes the rugged life, the great outdoors and especially to work with his tools, his gun or motorcycle, his wrench and scredriver, his hammer and saw - the metal implements of Mars. The Aries/Aries rising man usually feels good with these things in his hands. Mars, Aries and the First House of the chart are about the body, and the mundane Aries is very likely ging to keep his in good shape all his life. Many can be found working out with wegihts (heavy metal!) at the gym, getting in shape for the local ten kilometer eun or the office softball competitiion. Mars rules adrenalin, and the true Mars type is an adrenalin junkie. He feels better after a workout which relases the day's frustrations. Even if his job is physically demanding, he usually has energy left over. Arechetypally we think of Mars as a sports car driver or even a professional racer in the Indianapolis 500. Mars seeks to go "where no man has gone before," which is perhaps why so many Aries sun sign test pilots signed on to train as astronauts - outer space pioneers. Many have a high risk hobby such as hng gliding, cliff diving, or scuba diving in uncharted, dangerous waters. Others are involved in the martial arts, and a great many have served in the military, the traditional heroic career that enables them to "defend" the kindom." They also look handsome in uniforms and have the competitive opportunities to prove that they have the right stuff.
The archetypal Aries woman is usually athletic and keeps herself in good physical shape and she appreciates a man who notices it. Her attitudes are somewhat masculine, to the point that other Aphrodite-like women may not appreciate her at all. Traditionally Aries/Aries rising women had little in the way of a career outlet for their passionate, competitive spirits, so their Mars was lived out vicariously on the domestic scene. Mars played out its sense of danger though the husband's career, and he was often a handsome man in a high risk occupation.
The archetypal pattern of the Aries woman is more often than not modeled after Athene, the father's daughter, and her battle is often with the mother. Among the twelve Olympian gods, Aries fell under the protection of Athene, for several reasons. Athene was the patroness of the art of weaving, and the ram or sheep gave abundant wool, the material of weaving par excellence. More importantly, Athene was born full-grown from the head of her father Zeus, and Aries rules the head in medical astrology. This focus on the head denotes a very mental or intellectual emphasis, whether linked with Athene, the goddess of widom, or with the sign Aries.
As a Solar goddess who sprang full-blown from the brow of Father Zeus, Athene represents all the qualities of Logos - thinking, planning strategizing, organizing. Athene seated on the Ram symbolized the power of logos to control the instincts. Her mythology demonstrates that she is just as courageous as Ares, the Greek Mars, but wiser. Homer informs us in the Illiad that she was dispatched by Zeus to retrain Aries from impulsively creating havoc during the Trojan War. She carried out the will of God (Zeus) with prudence and confidence. She was unafraid on the battlefield of life. Her courage is admirable. As Logos, Athene tempers Mars' impulses to gratify him immediate desires with her reason and her discrimination. The Aries/Aries rising individuals who eshibit her prudence under fire, who are well-organized and calm, who read and improve their minds, who control their tempers and their instincts, who sublimate the passion of the moment to more important future goals, are Athene-like.
The coming of the Age of Aries (c. 2160 BCE to c. 1 CE) was signified by the predominance of Mars over Venus: in other words an economy and civilization which was based on war and the conquest of enemies as opposed to a more peaceful existence based on soil cultivation. The energy which was stored in the fixed sign of Taurus was ready to be activated through the cardinal male sign, Aries (by definition, a sign of immediate and direct self-expression) which is symbolized by the Ram. The basic characterstics which were to be expressed during its dominance were a pioneering spirit, courage, distinct individuality, and an inner sense of truth and self-righteousness. In order for either a person or a nation to acquire a sense of individuality, the differences between oneself and one's neighbors must be clearly marked. Therefore, the Age of Aries indicated the emergence of various tribes of people and the already existing civilizations into an era of great aggressiveness and violence. It was during this period that the empires of the Persians, Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians held tremendous power. Egypt had made the transition from a relatively peaceful people to a very bellicose race bent on incorporating all of the known world into its pyramidal structure.
The approach of the Age of Aries had a great effect on the forms by which the Egyptian gods were represented. The cult of the Bull, Apis, diminished and Amon-Re became Ram-headed, his strength growing in popularity with the now more bellicose population. The cult of the Ram spread to all parts of the civilized world. The names of many of the major deities were changed to illustrate the power of the cosmic forces at work in the new Age. Mithra, the Sun god of Persia, who used to be called "the Sacred Bull," now became the "The slayer of the Bull." Ashur, Sun god of the Assyrians and known as "The Great Bull," was transformed into a Marslike god of war. The sign of the Ram signified the desire to express one-self as a distinct individual and as a separate ego, to dominate one's environment. The culture of Greece was based on the ability of a person to represent himself individually, and thus gave rise to the first democratic state (here Libra is also at work in terms of the systems of social justice and quality). As every state of the Greek isles wished to be recognized as separate and supreme, Greece fell into a series of wars between these city-states, resulting in her downfall. The literature of the Age bore witness to the
emphasis on the martial arts, especially feats of courage by individual combatants. It was an age of warriors and thinkers; an age in which the male forces predominated. Aries 
is also a sign of travel, adventure, and the exploration - and often, conquest - of new lands. This was reflected in the work and life of the Greek traveler and commentator Herodotus, author of The Histories, and The Illiad and The Odyssey of Homer, The History of the Peloponnesian Wars of Thucydides, and the Aeneid of Vergil, to cite a few of the more famous classics of the Age.
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The Ram
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